unity of sounds and textures rather than like an ABA approach. You can hear... a reaching for sound and an exploration of the possibilities of sound." Ben Ratliff called Ascension "the first major piece of work from the jazz avant-garde to valorize the idea not only of sheer volume but of texture in jazz-group interaction", and noted that "immediately thereafter, the idea of texture would become very basic to experimental jazz." With regard to the solo sections, Jost also differentiated between players like Tchicai who tended to organize their solos motivically, as opposed to "sound" players like Sanders and Shepp, who tended to use extended techniques in an expressive way. According to Jost, Coltrane's solo is a synthesis of the two approaches: "Into a context that is melodic-motivic, all possibilities of tone coloration are incorporated, partly as a constructive device - when they serve as a means of formal articulation - and partly to provide for emotional intensification". Shepp pointed out that Coltrane "didn't want any stars on this record" and noted that "he took no more solo time than anybody else". Such also commented that "the roles among performers in Ascension are minimally differentiated", and wrote that this approach "enables soloists and improvisers to fuse their emotions and personalities more effectively". Similarly, writer Tony Whyton stated that "Although this type of nonhierarchical experiment is typical of several collective practices in the 1960s, the role that Coltrane fulfils within the sound world of Ascension is diametrically opposed to canonical aesthetics, where the iconic genius is presented as the center of creativity and performance practice," and noted that "Coltrane's involvement in the creation of an ensemble sound is somewhat antithetical to the album's cover design, which shows the artist seated alone in quiet contemplation". Ben Ratliff wrote that the album suggested "the notion of the jazz band as community, a collective effort to make large-scale textural music rather than an exclusive, carefully structured machine", and offered these comments: "Within the individual group, the leader-with-sidemen idea seemed suddenly old; a freer and more simultaneous notion of group playing was moving in. Jazz had never been less hierarchical. The spirit of musicians' collectives was making obsolete the old story of band-versus-band competition... If there is any truth to the rumors that Coltrane was taking acid between '64 and '67, it would only amount to more similar evidence. LSD commonly encourages the user to